The Manila City Hall is already bustling with civilians on a regular Tuesday morning. Most are holding mountainous amounts of paper―all waiting for their cases to be filed or processed. The corridors, aligned with unaesthetic wires and decrepit air conditioning units, were filled with people donning either barongs and americanas or t-shirts and sandals. In some way, the munisipyo of the nation’s capital mirrors the state of affairs outside its historic halls and wooden doors―busy, deteriorating, and full of frustrated faces.

In the midst of all this, bodies are piling up in the streets as the police crack down on drug pushers and users. President Rodrigo Duterte has identified the scourge of drugs as the number one problem ailing the country, and has encouraged his policemen to use all means to “deliver justice.”

“Extremely slow Philippine justice is one of the main factors behind the strong public support for…the law enforcement shortcuts offered by Dirty Rody’s Oplan Tokhang and Double Barrel,” writes Ana Marie Pamintuan, editor-in-chief of the Philippine Star. Much to the chagrin of the majority of the populace, justice in the country is a sluggish and sordid state of affairs.

Justice never sleeps

Courts in the Philippines have always had a hard time managing all the cases being filed and processed. Judge Jose Lorenzo Dela Rosa of Branch 4 of the Manila City Regional Trial Court cites Tagaytay City as an example. “Before, we had only one court in Tagaytay, it had 5,000 cases―120 cases a week,” he says.

If there is a shortage in supply of judges and courts, there is sure to be a shortage in justice. According to Dela Rosa, the government allocates only “less than one percent” of the national budget to the judiciary—a paltry sum to accommodate the demands of the courts—although the Philippine judiciary is set to receive an additional Php 2 billion in 2018 for its infrastructure push, among other things.

Add to this the fact that the courts are widely viewed as corrupt and untrustworthy. According to the 2016 Corruption Perceptions Index, the Philippines ranked 101st out of 175 in the list of the least corrupt countries.

There is some evidence to this. In The Poor on Trial in the Philippine Justice System (2005), a study by University of the Philippines professor Maria Glenda S. Lopez, social class and economic status of individuals play an integral part in chances with the law. “The lack of financial resources on the part of the poor also impairs efforts to look for witnesses for their defense,” Lopez writes. Because of this, “shortcuts” in the justice system are prevalent.

Despite this, there are some efforts at alleviating the inequities of the courts. In her TALAB 2017 speech given last October 14, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno stressed that “every injustice committed against the poor [and underprivileged] is a deprivation of their right to live.”

Dela Rosa himself says that he strives for fairness and equality in the provision of justice. “A privilege given to one is a privilege given to all…If the poor is first in the pile, then I hear their case first,” he says.

A new court?

There is no denying that there is still plenty of room for improvement in the courts. With concerns regarding delay in the processing of cases, Dela Rosa mentions several changes that show potential for positive change.

The stricter implementation of “continuous trial,” which was pilot-tested by Dela Rosa, is one. The continuous trial system was first launched in September 2014, and was implemented nationwide in May 2017. The system quickens the processing of criminal cases as opposed to the previous piecemeal method that delays cases due to irregular appointments or absence of the parties.

However, Dela Rosa clarifies that continuous trial has always “been there,” and that the only change is that there are stricter implementations and penalties. It requires the judge to schedule meetings and hearings in advance instead of conducting meetings indefinitely and irregularly. Such a system ensures that the relationship between the judge and the defendant remains consistent.

He also observes the more active participation of the police in court since President Duterte took office.

“From the time the President came in, we have better attendance of police officers already…not like before, it takes a while [to] notify these police officers, they don’t have the encouragement to enter and now, they’re all here. They attend all hearings already,” he says.

Without the presence of police officers in charge of the criminal case during trial, details of the case itself will not be presented to the court properly. The absence of the assigned police officer will essentially hinder the resolution of the case, because the officer is one of the main sources of evidence.

Technology also plays a big part. The eCourt, an automated court system that was implemented back in 2013, has potential to further reduce court delays permanently. The computer system organizes the cases by urgency and time, then directly notifies the judges of its time for processing. The number of eCourts is expected to grow from 197 at present to 297 by the end of the year.

Another factor is the inclusion of Court Decongestion Officers which aids the efficient processing of cases. These officers are contractually employed and given the task of compiling the research and facts for the judge, and eventually drafting the decisions of the trial. They need not be licensed lawyers, as long as they hold a law degree from an accredited college or university in the Philippines.

Progress in these fields is sure to be slow. It is still entirely possible that all these strides that the judiciary is taking may not even bear fruit. Wronged citizens might continue to resort to shortcuts as a way to obtain justice, and the police might take matters into their own hands extrajudicially. These threaten to undermine the very principle of equality under the law. But so long as the government remains committed to the principles enshrined in the Constitution, the democratic experiment in justice will endure.